You throw the ball. You catch the ball. You hit the ball…Of course, baseball fans know that this line from Bull Durham is far from true, part of the humor of the movie and a huge part of the fun of the game. This blog is a space to talk about baseball, being a baseball fan, all of those things that make the game fun and the Angels, because they make baseball fun for me.

Jered Weaver is a beast, that is all. Well, maybe not all…

So, Kristen. How was the ballgame?

Oh, it was nice. Fun. You know. They threw the ball, caught the ball and hit the ball. Couple of good plays. Just another Halo victory, as the announcers say. Oh…yeah…there was one other thing…

OMG!!! OMG!!! Jered Weaver threw a no hitter!!! And it was one of the most amazing things I have seen in my entire life. He was so on, he made it look effortless. I am still bouncing with excitement as I type this hours later and might quite possibly still be cheering were it not for the fact that I am hoarse from all of the cheering I did at the game – my neighbors are grateful and they don’t even know it, he he. Congratulations, Jered! This was beyond well deserved!!!

The team mobs Jered Weaver in congratulations. Check out the hair flip. ;) Angels vs. Twins, May 2, 2012. Photo by This is a very simple game…

And the pitching staff gets in n the congratulations too! Angels vs. Twins, May 2, 2012. Photo by This is a very simple game…

So, yeah. That was the first no hitter I’ve ever seen in person, a thought I heard echoed by many, most of whom are older than I and have therefore seen a great deal more live baseball, as the jubilant crowd lingered, mingled and eventually meandered their way out. It was just so magical that I don’t think anyone really wanted to leave. I know I had to pry myself away from the rails. So, now I am going to try to string together a few coherent thoughts about the game and the Angels beyond just exclaiming Wow!! over and over again, but I can’t make any promises on that front. As I said before, I’m pretty giddy.

So, as you may have heard a place or two…or ten…thousand, the Angels had a rough April. Enough pieces were there for a winning team, but those pieces just weren’t working together or at the same time. The team desperately needed not just a spark, but several sparks in rapid succession, sufficient to get a fire a going. So, starting Friday, the team makes several needed changes. Spark. Last night Jerome Williams pitched a gem, a complete game, three-hit shutout. Spark! And the offense started to pick up – Hello Torii ‘Homerun’ Hunter and Howie ‘one double shy of the cycle’ Kendrick! Spark!!

Torii Hunter warms up in right field. Angels vs. Twins, May 2, 2012. Photo by This is a very simple game…

Howie Kendrick! A double shy of the cycle last night. 4 for 4 tonight!! No ‘rest days’ for this hot bat, Sosh. Please!!! Angels vs. Twins, May 2, 2012. Photo by This is a very simple game…

Jered Weaver almost makes it look effortless during his no hitter. Angels vs. Twins, May 2, 2012. Photo by This is a very simple game…

And to top it all off, finally gifted with a lineup that simultaneously contained all of the teams’ best hitters, the Angels offense just went to town. Nine runs on 15 hits?! Baseballs were flying over the wall, zinging into the outfield, sneaking through the infield. It was a sight to behold. Spark! SPARK! Whooooosh. Conflagration? I hope so. We’ll find out this series when we face the Blue Jays.

Kendrys Morales was a beast, hitting just a triple shy of the cycle! This is not the most clear photo, but it’s the only photo I got of him actually touching home plate after his homerun and the motion was so careful and deliberate – note that he his watching that foot hit and not looking at anything else – but triumphant that I felt it spoke volumes. Angels vs. Twins, May 2, 2012. Photo by This is a very simple game…

Howie Kendrick gets a high five as he enters the dugout after homering in the 4th. Angels vs. Twins, May 2, 2012. Photo by This is a very simple game…

Once a first baseman…Mark Trumbo and Twins first baseman Chris Parmalee chat during a pitching change. Trumbo had a great game all around. He went 2 for 4 at the plate with two RBIs and made several great plays at 3rd. Angels vs. Twins, May 2, 2012. Photo by This is a very simple game…

Torii Hunter’s hot sreak continues! He went 2 for 4 at the plate, scoring 2 runs and owned right field, including making that great final catch to end the game. Angels vs. Twins, May 2, 2012. Photo by This is a very simple game…

Yes, we could look at sweeping the Twins as just the Angels beating up on a team that had an even worse April than we did. The Angels just did what they were supposed to do, big deal – except that in this case it is. The Angels did what they were supposed to do, which means that all of those sparks are starting to catch fire. Hip hip and ten thousand huzzahs. Keep it going boys and soon everyone’s going to catch on fire. So, Dan Haren. Weaver one upped Williams. You’re a competitive fellow. How about it? Care to try for the one up like you did last season? It could be fun!

Albert Pujols, Erick Aybar and Howie Kendrick take the field for the 9th inning, with excited game faces firmly in place. Angels vs. Twins, May 2, 2012. Photo by This is a very simple game…

Peter Bourjos is all smiles in center, warming up before the 8th inning. Could it be being back in the llineup? The hit and the walk? Or, gee, I don’t know. The no hitter maybe? So glad to see him back in the lineup! Can’t hit, if you don’t play. Angels vs. Twins, May 2, 2012. Photo by This is a very simple game…

So back to this whole no hitter thing. Being there was almost indescribable, but I’ll try. The crowd was sparse. Way too sparse for my tastes. Blame the aforementioned April woes combined with a weeknight game on a night that really looked like the morning’s rain might resume at any moment despite what the weather reports said. But by the fifth inning this small crowd was so excited, so invested in every pitch, that the feeling was absolutely electric and it filled the stadium.

Everyone knew what was going on. Ball players like to say they never look at the scoreboard but the fans make no such pretenses. And we all kept looking at each other, giving thumbs up and high fives. Bouncing up and down. Cheering. Pumping our fists and banging on the empty seats. All jumping out of our skins to shout out loud that which tradition forbids us from so much as whispering before the outcome of the final pitch…well, except for these two obnoxious ladies who from the 6th inning on would not shut up with the “Catch it Torii, catch it. Don’t spoil the no hitter!” “Way to go Pete, you saved the no hitter!” and so on. Look, I’m not a superstitious person. I don’t believe that saying no hitter during a no hitter, unless of course the person you’re saying it to is the pitcher in question, will have any impact on the game. But there are some traditions you just don’t break, and this is one of them. For the most part, they were simply ignored. And after that final out, the crowd went nuts chanting “Weaver, Weaver!” and jumping up and down.

Normally Jered Weaver has company in between innings. Note the traditional no hitter wide berth everyone is giving him during the Angels at bat in the 7th. Angels vs. Twins, May 2, 2012. Photo by This is a very simple game…

And can I just say how heartwarming it was to see our hometown hero who made it clear in no uncertain terms last season that he loves this team as much as we do, accomplish so much at home in front of friends and family! Watching him exchange emotional hugs with his parents and then sweep his new bride – who has a great name, by the way, even though she spells it funny ;) – up into an embrace before the press conferences began? This was a slice of what baseball used to be.

Hugs all around! Jered Weaver gets a bear hug from his father and his mother and new bride exchange “Can you believe this!” looks in the happy pandemonium that follows the final out. Angels vs. Twins, May 2, 2012. Photo by This is a very simple game…

* * * * *

And the absolute icing on the evening’s seriously delectable cake was our seats. Some season ticket holder with a very exclusive location just couldn’t make the game this evening – bet they’re kicking themselves now, don’t you? – and put their tickets up for sale online. I really will never be able to thank them enough because not only were Seth and I there for this amazing game, we watched it from the front row of the Knothole Club, the Club level restaurant in right field just to the “It’s outta here!” side of the foul pole. The view? The service? The food? Amazing! This game made its own ballpark experience. We would have enjoyed ourselves in even the cheapest of cheap seats. But having the rare opportunity to enjoy such luxurious surroundings and a perfectly unobstructed view of the magic on the mound made it even better.

Ah the Knothole Club! A great view of the field combined with no obstructions and in seat service from a rather nice menu! We felt like royalty. Oh how I wish these seats came up affordable more often. Angels vs. Twins, May 2, 2012. Photo by This is a very simple game…

22 Comments

Jealous, jealous, jealous. Never been to a no-hitter in person. In fact, I don’t even think I’ve seen one on TV. Nolan Ryan’s 6th and 7th for the Rangers? Not on TV where I lived. Kenny Rogers perfect game? Well, I gues you could say I “saw” it… the last few outs, but not the whole game. Closes I ever got was when I was a young sportscaster covering American Legion ball in the early 80’s. Pitcher had a perfecto going into the 7th and last inning, but a walk, a stolen base and a hit later, he’d lost the perfecto, the no-hitter and the shutout. Congrats on seeing a rare accomplishment!

I am pinching myself over the fact that I saw it, Original Senators Fan. :) I know how rare these are and how easily even the greatest effort can go kaplooey in the 9th. Heck, if that one foul in the 8th had been two feet further in, it would have been just another nifty one-hit shutout. Well, with your pitching staff and the new broadcast contract I wouldn’t be surprised if you see one in the next season or few.

That is simply amazing that you were there to witness that. I hope that someday I can witness one myself. I’ve come pretty close on several occassions, but the pitchers never finsh it out. Of course, it could have come against a better team, then again, it probably wouldn’t have come against a better team. Oh, and sorry I haven’t been commenting more, but right now is my busiest time of the year. Once I get out of school I’ll…still be busy, BUT I will less busy, so I might actually be able to go around the Mlblogs scene more often.
-Mateohttp://mateofischer.mlglos.com

There’s so many things that make a no hitter, including a bit of luck, that I’m not surprised you’ve seen a lot of near misses, Mateo. And I’m ignoring that crack about the better team. ;) Hey, no worries about taking a break from comments. We all have outside responsibilities that are a priority and especially when you’re still in school they need to be a priority. Good luck with finals and such.

I’m glad you were there. I think I’m the only person I know who has attended more than 100 games without seeing a no-hitter. Only time I came close was Langston going into the seventh, only to watch it deteriorate to a two run, five hit outing.

Thank you Andy! Well, I’m getting up there towards the 100 game mark and leaving the stadium, there were a lot of folks who had probably passed it for whom this was their first. Yeah, poor Langston, but then he did have the combined no hitter with Witt. Oddly, he was co announcing the game for the radio broadcast last night.

Wow, that is such an awesome experience, I can’t believe you were actually there for it. Weaver is indeed a beast, he’s been on my fantasy team the past 3 years for a reason. I’m just glad we don’t have to face him in our 4 game series against you guys. Except now I’m worried that Haren is going to try and one-up him, haha. If the past few days is a sign of things to come, we may be rolling into Anaheim at the wrong time. Should be a fun series though, we’re still pumped up over back-to-back victories against the Rangers. Man, Weaver…I’d say I can’t believe it but I can. When he took that “home town discount” he got so much respect from me. Congratulations, now go into a post-partying slump for 4 games and then bounce back. ;P

I’m hoping for a great series myself. The Jays are pumped. The Angels are pumped. We’re ingnoring this evening as an abberation…yeah, didn’t really think I’d slip that one by you, Mike. So…um…a three-hit shut out. That’s a pretty special thing well worth celebrating. And there are a lot of great bars in the OC. I think the Jays should go out tonight and celebrate…a lot…and then a lot more…like, a lot, a lot more. Hangovers be damned. ;)

Wow, Kristen! I’m so happy for you that you were able to witness this live. I can only imagine how amazing your night was. Great pics, as usual, too. Looks like things are looking up in Angel land.
–Mike

It was so exciting Mike! And I was bouncing around all day with only non baseball fan coworkers to try and explain it too and they just don’t get it. :) Hopefully they’re turing it around. I think tonight was just plain a case of running into great pitching and our great pitching flinched for an inning (and then there was the error, but it was moot at that point)

Kristen,
Congratulations! i try to post before but was having a hard time connecting. Wow! You were there! How awesome is that!
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Andrew, I’ve seen way way more than 100 games and have never seen a no-hitter. I’ve seen a few Dodger ones on TV but never in person. I don’t lose hope though.
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You got a special ticket there Kristen. Is it paper? Maybe you can get it signed someday. Oh remember that game that Jered Weaver pitched at Dodger Stadium where he had a no hitter going? It happened to be on my bday. I was there.
-Emmahttp://crzblue.mlblogs.com

WOW!!! I can’t believe you were at the game of a no hitter. That had to be one the best days ever. I hope someday that I’ll get to witness a no hitter in person. The crowd must have gone crazy!!!
-Davidhttp://bleacherboy.wordpress.com/

It really was one of the best nights ever, David! I hope you get to experience it at some point and with the Brewers improving that pitching staff you probably will. :) The crowd did go crazy and people were coming to the stadium in droves in the 7th and 8th innings when they figured out what was happening. The energy was amazing!

Congrats!!! Seeing a no-hitter is always something that I’m hoping for each game I go to. Unfortunately there has not been a no-no in Wrigley since 1972. It must have been very exciting and I’m happy for you that you were there.

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